I just got my replacement. I'll use this thread to discuss the differences between the replacement and the defective units.

The replacement unit is much better over all, but still not as good as I would have liked. I do think it is a keeper though. I'll outline the differences between the units below.

Background Shade

Defective PW: Darker than the Touch when unlit and much darker and blueish when lit.

Replacement: Same as Touch when unlit and much lighter/whiter when lit.

Light Color

Defective PW: The light casts a dark blue hue on the screen.

Replacement: The light casts a barely noticeable light tan hue on the screen.

Light Shadows

Defective PW: Very blotchy and uneven all over screen. Top third of screen very dark.

Replacement: Slightly noticeable uneven shading when in a darker room, but over all very evenly distributed light, except bottom half inch of course.

Fonts

Defective PW: Lower contrast (lighter and thinner) than Touch. Letters are mostly washed out at any light level with a lot of variations in contrast and darkness. Lot of eyestrain when reading.

Replacement: Noticeably higher contrast (darker and thicker) than Touch at all light levels. Still some variations in contrast and darkness and these areas coincide with those on the Defective PW, so I'm thinking firmware issue. Haven't yet read enough to see if there is any eyestrain, but I don't think there will be.

Over All Impression

The Replacement PW is much better over all with a screen that when adequately lit more closely resembles the marketing ads and the descriptions herein presented by many MR members. There are still some minor font display issues but I suspect that can be cleared up with a firmware upgrade. The Replacement PW delivers a much better reading experience than my Touch. I'm going to read a lot on it then report back on how that went, but preliminary testing looks very good!

EDIT: I was able to read a couple of hours on my replacement PW this evening without any eyestrain, so I'm pleased! It is in no way as good as the Amazon marketing ads make it out to be, but it is a lot better than using a clip on light, and better than any other eInk reader I've ever used. But Amazon still needs to work on font rendering to make it darker and heavier. Whenever the light level is turned up high enough to render a really white background, the text starts to look light and thin.

I appreciate you taking the time to compare. As someone that's still on the fence about getting one, I was initially discouraged after reading some of the more negative reviews. I'll be particularly interested in your long-term opinion after you've used it for a while as it seems you have high standards and are thorough.

Thanks for this detailed description. I am happy for you!
It gives me hope that when the KPW eventually is available in Germany via Amazon.de it is a much more improved unit and probably at an advanced firmware status.

However, my unit recieved has no color hues on the screen at all. It a perfect white matching the white on my LCD screens. I cannot detect any shading anywhere and all the fonts are uniformly thick and black.

I have noticed that the fonts in different ebooks have a slightly different thickness. However, they are uniform for each ebook.

However, my unit recieved has no color hues on the screen at all. It a perfect white matching the white on my LCD screens. I cannot detect any shading anywhere and all the fonts are uniformly thick and black.

I have noticed that the fonts in different ebooks have a slightly different thickness. However, they are uniform for each ebook.

So you see no shading/bleeding even with the brightness turned all the way up?

jswinden - When you have the brightness turned all the way up do you see the shading/bleeding on the bottom of your replacement unit?

Yes, at level 24 I can see the bottom shadows very clearly, though that doesn't bother me. I think that is going to be there on all of the PWs. I'm currently in a well lit room and as I turn up the light level I can just start noticing the bottom shadows at around level 12. Level 14 is just right for reading in this room. Level 24 is way too bright to comfortably read in this room.

But I'm not seeing the blotchiness all over the screen like I did with my defective PW. There is some shadow/light variations, but they are not that bad. My screen looks much like most of the photos I've seen from good units. It does NOT look as white and clean as the marketing photos, but I wouldn't expect it too!

Happy to hear the replacement is better. Now tell me when you read in the dark does the page flash bother you? This is my only real concern at the moment. I don't need him bickering at me for something new. Right now I'm on the fence between the PW or the KFHD.

Happy to hear the replacement is better. Now tell me when you read in the dark does the page flash bother you? This is my only real concern at the moment. I don't need him bickering at me for something new. Right now I'm on the fence between the PW or the KFHD.

Blossom if you are sensitive that sort of thing then it might bother you. I went into the bathroom in my apartment because it is the only room other than a closet with no windows. It was very dark. Interestingly enough I've been using level 14 for my well lit room but only needed to turn it down to level 12 in a totally dark room. Anything below level 11 is too low and makes it a bit of an eyestrain. Much over 14 and it becomes to bright. At level 12 in the totally dark room the page turns are very noticeable and annoying though I could live with it. If your eyes are sensitive to such things then I can see where it would be a problem. I hesitate to use the word flash because the light level does not change or flicker when you turn pages, but you can really see a lot of detail as the eInk flashes to all black pixels and back to normal text! It is a big effect!!!! Like I said it doesn't bother me but it is page flash on major steroids compared to unlit Kindles.

Blossom if you are sensitive that sort of thing then it might bother you. I went into the bathroom in my apartment because it is the only room other than a closet with no windows. It was very dark. Interestingly enough I've been using level 14 for my well lit room but only needed to turn it down to level 12 in a totally dark room. Anything below level 11 is too low and makes it a bit of an eyestrain. Much over 14 and it becomes to bright. At level 12 in the totally dark room the page turns are very noticeable and annoying though I could live with it. If your eyes are sensitive to such things then I can see where it would be a problem. I hesitate to use the word flash because the light level does not change or flicker when you turn pages, but you can really see a lot of detail as the eInk flashes to all back pixels and back to normal text! It is a big effect!!!! Like I said it doesn't bother me but it is page flash on major steroids compared to unlit Kindles.

Do you think it would bother someone in the room with you? I'm not concern about my eyes but my hubby will be next to me. Does it looks like someone taking pictures is what I am asking.

Do you think it would bother someone in the room with you? I'm not concern about my eyes but my hubby will be next to me. Does it looks like someone taking pictures is what I am asking.

Oh no, there is no change in the visible light as such, no camera flash effect, no glow bouncing off the walls, etc. It just amplifies the view a a page refreshing (flashing) that is all. As long as the light level doesn't bother your husband while you are reading a page it won't bother him while you turn a page.